May 22, 2012 6:15pm EDTMay 22, 2012 1:28pm EDTDaniel Snyder's Redskins and the rival Cowboys will remain salary-cap strapped over the next two seasons as they try to compete as arch-rivals in the NFC East. The 'Skins are out $36 million.

NFL general counsel Jeff Pash told reporters at the league spring meeting that arbitrator Stephen Burbank handed both teams a "total dismissal" in their claim to regain cap space the NFL had stripped away because of unethical spending during the uncapped year of 2010-11.

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"Professor Burbank, the system arbitrator under the collective bargaining agreement, has rejected the challenge to the salary-cap adjustments that was filed by the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys, and granted our motion to dismiss the claim," Pash said.

"We pursued our salary cap claim pursuant to the CBA and we respect and will abide by the arbitrator's decision to dismiss. We will continue to focus on our football teams and the 2012 season."

According to the NFL, what the Redskins and Cowboys did was reckless toward the spirit of the uncapped year. Citing that there were no salary restrictions in place during that year, the challenge was put forth by owners Daniel Snyder and Jerry Jones.

The Redskins are harder hit by the decision to uphold the league’s ruling. They will end up losing $36 million in cap space over the next two seasons.

The Cowboys’ number remains at a more manageable $10 million lost.

That’s still a whopping total of $46 million in salary lost by two of the league’s richest and most willing-to-spend teams.

Pash wasn’t quite ready to say the door is closed on the Cowboys and Redskins fighting to get the cap room back, but is confident in Burbank’s decision.

"I would assume that Professor Burbank has written his usual careful opinion and it does resolve rather completely all the issues," Pash said.

In his 10-page opinion Burbank emphasized how what the Redskins and Cowboys did should be regarded as a violation.

"Particularly because the discovery sought by the Clubs includes matters of bargaining strategy and the internal operations of the Management Council, I am not inclined to view remote factual contingencies as sufficient to preserve claims that are otherwise untenable as matter of law," Burbank wrote.